About The Event
Web Page
Wargaming America and resident tank expert The Chieftain are hosting an interactive gathering of the leading, world-renowned, published authorities on tanks. The event will be March 10, 2012, from 9:00 a.m. - 2:45 p.m., followed by an optional museum tour. The event will be videotaped from the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation in Portola Valley, California.
The Military Vehicle Technology Foundation oversees one of the largest and most significant collections of historical military vehicles in the world.
Submitting Questions
Have a question about tanks or their history you'd like to ask the authors listed below? The topic is the tanks and tank development 1930s-1950s. The floor is yours--just submit them through the method below that is most comfortable for you.
The best questions submitted will be chosen to help drive the discussion during our Q&A session with the authors. This is your chance to learn more about the tanks you love, so don't miss out!
Discussion Forum
We've created a special discussion forum for Operation Think Tank 2012. Feel free to join in on the discussion, and be sure to pay the question submission thread a visit if you would like to toss your question into the pot.
Are you social media savvy? We've put together a special page devoted to Operation Think Tank 2012 on Facebook. Head over now to take a look, start sharing with your friends, and of course post your questions on the wall.
Oh, and don't forget to click the “Like” button while you're there! We'll be sharing all the latest news and updates on Operation Think Tank 2012 with our fans.
Does Twitter course through your veins as much as tank lore? If so, feel free to Tweet us your question!
Simply send out your question with the hash tag #thinktank and we'll take note of it.
Have a question you've classified Top Secret, deemed worthy of viewing only by the eyes of The Chieftain? No problem--we've created a special email address specifically for Operation Think Tank 2012.
Send your question to events@worldoftanks.com, and be sure to include your World of Tanks username so we can give you credit at the event!
Attending
We'll have more information on attending the event at a later time. Space will be limited, so keep your eyes peeled on the Operation Think Tank 2012 Facebook page or the World of Tanks community portal for more details.
Watch It Online
We won't be able to invite everyone, but that's not stopping us! We're going to record Operation Think Tank 2012 and will make it available for viewing online, after the event takes place.
Stay tuned for more details on the online availability, including where you can watch it and what extra goodies it will include. We're cooking up some fun behind-the-scenes content that will be exclusively available in the video version of the event.
The Panel
Hilary Doyle

Hailing from Dun Laoighre, Ireland Mr. Doyle has written about armored vehicles since 1964. He is currently working on a series of books on the Panzer Tracts with Mr. Thomas Jentz.
With over 100 publication mentions to his credit and counting, if anyone is synonymous with accurate World War II vehicle plans and specifications, it’s Mr. Doyle.
Kenneth Estes

A retired US Marine Corps Lt. Colonel, Mr. Estes served as a tanker from 1969 until 1993. Since then, he has penned official histories of both US Marine Corps and US Army units.
Mr. Estes has also written commercially successful books including, Marines Under Armor: The Marine Corps and the Armored Fighting Vehicle, 1916-2000 and US Marine Corps Tank Crewman 1941-45: Pacific
David Fletcher MBE

Mr. Fletcher currently resides as the resident historian of the Royal Armored Corps Museum in Bovington, England. A highly respected authority in the field of British Armor from 1916-1945, Mr. Fletcher has been on the museum staff since 1982.
He has also published several books, including The Great Tank Scandal and The Universal Tank.
Rob Griffin

Still serving to this day in the Territorial Army, Mr. Griffin also served 25 years in 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards. Originally from Gloucester, England Mr. Griffin has penned the definitive books on the post-war British tanks “Chieftain” and “Conqueror.”
Mr. Griffin is also a keen modeler – contributing to Military Modeling and Military in Scale magazines.
Harry Yeide

Mr. Yeide has been a published authority on tanks since 2003. He has published the definitive book on the US Army’s Tank Destroyer Corps, The Tank Killers, as well as other works including Weapons of the Tankers and Steel Victory.
When not writing about US Army steel, Mr. Yeide works as a foreign affairs analyst in Washington D.C.
Steven Zaloga

An esteemed author of numerous books detailing armored fighting vehicles, Mr. Zaloga holds an MA in History from Columbia University – particularly celebrated for his attention to Soviet/Russian equipment.
Mr. Zaloga is an enthusiastic modeler and member of the Armor Modeling and Preservation Society, while also serving as senior analyst at the Teal Group in Washington, D.C.
"The Chieftain"

A US Army armor officer, The Chieftain is a modeler, historical wargamer and a volunteer at the MVTF. He has written for the specialist press and runs Wargaming’s Military Op-ed/history column, “The Chieftain’s Hatch”.
He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area